McCid's
by Tysonkaiexperiment
Summary: COMPLETE. Cloud, as Squall's best friend, knows everything about him. So when Squall actually buys their group of friends' lunch at McCid's and doesn't worry about the price, Cloud only comes to one conclusion. Squall was in love. SquallSora and others.


The name and idea for the restaurant came from my lovely brain twin, Chronos Mephistopheles, so thank her for that.

**Title**—McCid's**  
>Author<strong>—Tysonkaiexperiment**  
>Fandom<strong>—Kingdom Hearts**  
>Challenge<strong>—None**  
>CouplingsCharacters**—Squall/Sora, mentioned SephirothCloud, YuffieKairi, ZidaneGarnet, HopeLightningCid (Raines), Cid (Highwind) Vincent, and TidusYuna.**  
>WarningsRating**—T, the word queer is used by Cid, but it's affectionate, and it's said by Highwind so don't take it seriously.**  
>Summary<strong>—Cloud, as Squall's best friend, knows everything about him. So when Squall actually buys their group of friends' lunch at McCid's and doesn't worry about the price, Cloud only comes to one conclusion. Squall was in love. SquallSora.**  
>Notes<strong>—this was inspired by a Dissidia fan art by Nonosaki on pixiv, you can see it on my livejournal if you'd like.

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><p><strong>McCid's<strong>

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><p>Cloud Strife was proud of many things in life. The fact that he wasn't so friendless or emo as he thought was one, or the fact that he was dating the most desirable guy on the west side of Radiant Garden was another, but he was also proud of having Squall Leonhart as a best friend.<p>

Squall, who was seventeen—nearing eighteen—was from the east side of Radiant Garden and went to Balamb Academy, an expensive high school that sat at the boarder of Radiant Garden and its neighbor Balamb. They had met when Squall was dragged to the mall by two of his other friends, Tidus and Bartz, and had somehow found themselves sharing a table with Cloud's group of friends.

Between Tidus' stubborn nature and Bartz's hyper attitude, they got along rather well with Zidane and Vaan. The two blonds went to the combination school in the center of Radiant Garden, Cloud, who was in his second semester of college, had met them when they visited his school.

In short, they were an odd but well-fit-in group, and Cloud found himself making friends with Squall, they got along so well he could practically call the younger his brother.

Squall had only dated once, a beautiful girl named Rinoa that was able to read Squall like a book, Cloud thought they'd be soul mates. Unfortunately she had moved and they both had been sensible enough to not attempt a long-distance relationship. Amazingly Squall had been the one who suggested it; it was surprising to Cloud considering when Squall was in love he fell hard. Last he heard Rinoa was engaged to a man named Seifer and Squall had promised her that he'd go to the wedding, but Cloud had never spoke of the subject again, like she was a closed chapter in Squall's book of life.

Dusting off his bright blue sweater, Cloud fixed his collar as he stepped off the train, determined to grab something to drink. Coffee preferably, and he hoped Squall had bought him one before he got into the McCid's. Then again he didn't say whether he'd be able to make it that day, as he was supposed to spend all night cramming for the next day's test. He probably should've called the younger ahead of time.

Shaking his head, Cloud decided he'd just get the coffee himself and then head to their table, it'd become their table since they started going there almost religiously. Bartz and Tidus had suggested the McCid's in the middle of the city as the group's meeting point, and they all automatically agreed.

As he rounded the corner a block from the place, Cloud spotted Zidane, who was saying goodbye to his girlfriend Garnet before the smaller blond noticed him. Zidane strolled over as Garnet left, flashing a cheeky grin to the other blond, "I thought you weren't coming?"

"The test got postponed." Cloud shrugged as they walked the last half block. Although a little scatterbrained at times, Zidane was smart and understanding, Cloud didn't mind having him as a close friend. Opening the door, the strong gust of the air conditioner in their faces, they braced themselves for the next second.

"_Welcome to McCid's!_" The manager of this location, Cid Highwind, yelled into the intercom, "_Order your shit and get out!_"

Cloud followed Zidane to the counter, deciding to order together they strode up to one of the two open cash registers. Cid Fahrenheit seemed to be too busy yelling at his kids, Brother and Rikku, from across the restaurant anyways. Cid Raines flipped a lock of raven hair behind his ear and beamed at them after closing his blue cell phone shut, "How may I help you gentlemen today?"

"Texting Lightning again?" Zidane asked, always wondering about the other's romantic life, Cloud was just more interested in getting his damn coffee.

"One day she'll stop dating that Hope kid, one day." The man stated blissfully, seemingly unaware at the group of girls giggling at him from several steps away. "Now what would you like?"

"A coffee." Cloud stated, refusing to comment that he liked Hope and thought Lightning had made a great choice.

"A coffee and a number four!" Zidane chose after a moment, flashing a grin and digging out a couple of crumpled bills from his back pocket as Cloud produced fresh crisp ones from his wallet.

After they paid their total they scooted over to the corner of the counter, chit chat light compared to the loud conversations around the place. Within five minutes their order was handed to them and they began making their way to the back, where their group were already well into their meal.

That's when Cloud noticed it, Squall was sitting there, coffee practically untouched as the brunet merely focused on his wallet with an '_I can't fucking believe it_' face. Next to Squall was Vaan, who picked up his soda from in between his fries and McFlurry and took a sip before eating a fry and responding to Bartz.

Tidus, who was sitting across from Squall, noticed them first, "Hey guys!" He waved; other hand on the top of his cup and large piece of chicken dangling from his mouth. His tray was piled with goodies, a box of fries, a cheeseburger, a McCidMac right next to it, and a box of chicken nuggets right next to that.

Zidane apparently saw everything in the same order Cloud did, "You guys made Squall pay for all that?"

Bartz finally looked up from his even bigger pile of food; he'd been right in the middle of licking his fingers and trying to remove the melted cheese from the burger off his face. His fries were the only thing standing; another cheeseburger, a quarter pounder, and box of nuggets were laid out in front of him with three empty burger wrappers between his and Vaan's trays. "Oh hey!"

Cloud shuffled around to Squall's side as Zidane wedged himself next to Bartz to surprisingly complain that Squall shouldn't have to pay for everything. "You bought them a buffet?"

Squall glanced up from the practically empty wallet in his lap; he unconsciously reached passed his beige blazer to tug at his bright red tie, "… Yeah…"

"He said we could choose!" Bartz insisted, still chewing on one of his burgers, "I'm a growing boy you know!"

Cloud studied his best friend, Squall refused to look up, simply grabbed his coffee and took a swing before he unconsciously winced at how cold it had gotten. Frowning, the blond watched him go back to staring longingly at his wallet, waiting to see Squall's next move. The first second the brunet grimaced at his wallet again, the next his eyes had lost the annoyed look in them and his lips pressed together lightly. He waited until Bartz and Zidane said they had to catch the train home to southern Radiant Garden and Tidus mentioned he was playing a game in the northern half before he spoke up, Vaan trustworthy enough to listen in, "You're in love."

Squall's head snapped up so fast the blond thought it was going to break his neck, Vaan's eyebrows rose before he grinned and leaned in closer, "Squall, you have a lady on the side?"

"I don't." The brunet denied, determined to stare his coffee down, Cloud was just barely able to see the light trail of pink dusting his cheeks.

"I won't say anything." The blond answered gently, Vaan moaned in complaint before he saw Penelo across the way and excused himself, "But will you ever tell them?"

A few seconds later, Squall's head tilted in defeat, "He's fifteen."

Unfazed by Squall's apparent bisexuality, Cloud nodded, "I can see how that'd be difficult, you're turning eighteen in two months."

"I'm going home." Squall responded, scooping up his bag and leaving without another word, leaving Cloud as the last member there.

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><p>When Cloud entered McCid's on Saturday he was in his usual routine. Cid Highwind had his cup of coffee ready and was bitching about how late he was even though it was only two minutes passed the time he usually arrived.<p>

"You going to join Squall?" The blond man asked, arms folded as he chewed on his toothpick.

Cloud blinked, startled, "Squall's here?" He wandered in the direction Cid tilted his head, the exact opposite way they usually sat during their school days.

Squall was sitting there, squished into one booth's seat with another brunet, this one younger. There were three text books between them, the younger reached up to brush a spike of chocolate hair back before he smiled up at Squall. And, surprisingly to the blond, Squall smiled back, ruffling the smaller's hair. The younger pouted and reached up to smack his hand away before twirling his pencil in his hand.

The boy glanced over at him, and Cloud's breath caught as he realized this boy's eyes were blue enough to rival his own. Curiously, the brunet blinked at him before clearing his throat, "Uhm, Leon?"

Squall looked at the boy then followed the way he was pointing, directly to Cloud. Off-guard, Leon choked on his spit and straightened his posture instead of letting the brunet lean on him like he had been. "Cloud."

"Hey, _Leon_." The blond answered, sliding into the open seats of the booth, "And who's this?"

"Sora Kaze." Squall breathed out quickly, suddenly gripping his cup of coffee like if he drank it then a Twix commercial would happen and time would slow, "I'm tutoring him."

Sora smiled nervously and held out his hand, which Cloud took for the briefest moments before dropping. The boy was nearly sweating nerves, tugging at his plaid tie that Cloud recognized as part of the Destiny Islands High School uniform, which meant he himself lived closer to the boy than Squall.

"I'm Cloud Strife." He answered, drumming his fingers lightly on his cup, "Leon's best friend."

"Oh." The smaller answered, looking wildly between the two, "Should I… should I go?"

"No you're fine." Cloud and Squall answered together, Sora gave a brief flash of a smile when they'd said it in sync.

"I was just swinging by for my usual coffee." The blond insisted, "I've got to go have a study group with my boyfriend and some classmates."

Sora's mouth opened, shut, and then opened once more, "Sephiroth?"

Cloud blinked, "You know him?"

Nodding, Sora smiled, "He's older brother to my best friend, Riku."

With a quick nod, Cloud smirked, "I remember Riku, stubborn, good looks, kind of an asshole."

"One in the same." Sora grinned, head tilted, "Sephiroth might have gum in his hair, Riku got pissed at him earlier."

Chuckling, Cloud could only imagine the annoyed look on Sephiroth's face, he stood and smiled at Sora before nodding to Squall. "Well Leon, Sora, I've got to get going, have fun on your study _date_."

He'd put the emphasis on date, amused when they pressed as far away from each other as possible, cheeks a bright enough red.

Cloud smiled and left McCid's.

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><p>When he approached McCid's the next day, Sunday, Cloud was surprised to see Squall standing in front of the building. It was raining, and Squall was standing under the tarp and unconsciously fiddling with the buttons on his blazer. He stopped next to him and said nothing as he peered inside, to where Sora was cheerfully talking with a redheaded girl; they were leaned over the table giggling to themselves. "Jealous?"<p>

"No." Squall insisted, even though it sounded weak to both their ears, "I'm simply waiting for him to be finished so we can study."

"I already know that's him, you don't need to lie." Cloud commented, noting Squall had yet to take his eyes off the two. He sighed and slipped inside, accepting his cup of coffee from one of the Cid's before he walked by Sora's table, looking like he was searching for someone. That was when he struck, stopped at their table with a tight smile, "Hey, Sora, right?"

Sora blinked up at him and smiled unknowingly, "Yup, Cloud? This is Kairi."

The innocent red haired girl smiled and gave a little wave, "Sephiroth's boyfriend?"

He nodded at her, focusing on Sora, "Has Leon come in?"

The boy frowned suddenly, looking out the window and not spotting him thanks to the pillars blocking his view. "Not yet, I've been waiting on him, any idea where he is?"

"None, sorry." Cloud answered, attempting to look as calm as his voice was, "Maybe he saw you two together and figured he'd let you finish up your date."

Kairi burst into laughter as Sora squeaked, she took charge of the conversation, "Sorry, Sora, but I wouldn't date you. I'm happily dating my girlfriend, Yuffie."

"Oh god." The blond answered, eye-twitching, "You're dating the black-haired she-devil?"

Twirling a lock of red hair around her finger, Kairi grinned, "Yup, and I hope you know she takes pleasure in being called that."

"I'll keep that in mind." Cloud scoffed, "Well I have to run, if I see Leon I'll tell him he's late, see you guys!" They waved at him until he was out the door, Cloud stopped at the pillar Squall hadn't moved from and pretended to throw his coffee away. His eyes wandered over his best friend's embarrassed form and he smiled teasingly, "Leave it to you, Leonhart, to get jealous over a lesbian."

And he proudly walked off, feeling better the entire day.

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><p>It was Wednesday when he saw Sora again, the boy had been standing in front of Squall's apartment, finger raised to ring the door bell and hand gripping a box of McCid's cookies.<p>

Cloud smiled when he approached, the cans of cheap soup clinking together in the plastic bag he was carrying and alerting Sora of him, "Hey, what're you doing here?"

"We had a study time today." Sora muttered out, cheeks bright red as Cloud lowered his hand and rung the doorbell. "I found out from Yuffie that Leon was sick today, but he was still planning on attempting to meet me."

"He's a stubborn guy." The blond agreed just in time to see Squall's door swing open.

Squall wasn't in too great of a state, cheeks and nose a bright red, hair messy, his sweat pants still hanging on his hips, and his button up shirt was crumpled with his blazer miss-buttoned on top of it, tie resting undone around his neck, "I'm running late Strife, I already said—."

"Hi!" Sora called out, raising a hand as he noticed Cloud smile, the blond's face read he was planning on not saying a thing until he was inside. "I heard you were sick and—."

"Hold it." Squall interrupted, shutting the door for a moment, there was silence as Sora nervously looked to Cloud for a few minutes before Squall dared open the door again. This time he was in a pair of black skinny jeans and steel grey short sleeved shirt, "Come on in."

The two slid inside, Cloud headed straight to the kitchen to start making soup as Sora glanced around the apartment, obviously his first time there. "Sit on the couch Leonhart, stop being a stuck up ass and eat the soup I'm going to make. I brought medicine too, you better drink it."

Grumbling, the older brunet sat on his couch, wincing but refusing to admit the action hurt his voice. He motioned for Sora to sit next to him as Cloud disappeared to search for a pot for the soup. When he found it he pulled out two cans from the bag, debating between both of them he quickly turned and peaked his head out from the kitchen, "Minestrone or vegetable—."

"I feel so bad." Sora murmured, he was sitting quietly next to Squall, pleasantly curled up to him even with four other seats available. "I didn't mean to get you sick Monday."

"It's not your fault." The older brunet replied just as quietly, fingers reaching over to brush against the back of Sora's hand before the younger gently took his hand, "It was more mine."

"Both our faults then," Commented the younger, smiling gently before reaching up to place a kiss against the corner of Squall's lips, the older looking content just to watch Sora's amused expression.

Sliding back into the kitchen, Cloud opened a soup without looking and dumped it in the pot while starting the fire. When it was finished he poured half into a bowl and brought it out to where Squall had turned on the television and apparently allowed Sora to choose what they were going to watch as the smaller now sat a seat away.

"So," Cloud started as he set the soup down in front of Squall and handed him a spoon, his eyes glanced to Sora who was focused on the television, before they landed on Squall, who was taking a drink of the soup. "Were the cookies an apology for getting you sick or to congratulate each other on being a couple?"

Squall choked on the burning liquid as Sora jumped out of his seat and sent Cloud a surprised look, Cloud attempted to look innocent.

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><p>"So you moochers," Cloud grinned, folding his arms as the others around him gaped, "That is why Squall will no longer be feeding you, he'll be spending it all on his boyfriend."<p>

"Yay to the happy couple!" Cid Highwind grumbled into the intercom as Squall walked in with Sora by his side, the blond man had grabbed a handful of confetti (origins unknown) and all but tossed it into Squall's face so the older brunet nearly choked on it. "You get a free hot fudge sundae. Just one, not two. Share a spoon you queers."

"Queers?" Tidus taunted, grinning at Cid, "Cid Highwind said queers, even though his second job is to go around the city playing Fate dressed in a tutu, purple tank top, plastic crown and plastic pink princess wand. With his loyal boyfriend, Vincent Valentine, running around with him playing Circumstance; and he calls them the queers."

"Shut up!" The man snapped, grabbing the intercom before glancing at the first table on the other side of the restaurant, "_Yuna Braska, Tidus has had a crush on you for all six years that he's known you, even before you became a pop idol._"

Standing back, Cid smirked as the girl blinked her impossibly large eyes at the pale Tidus, who was now being laughed at by everyone in the place.

Yes, Cloud grinned; McCid's was a wonderful place to start relationships.

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><p><strong>Tke<strong>—Uhm, I have nothing to really say to this except go '_lulz_'. Originally this was going to be a sort of birthday gift to myself, but I couldn't wait like two weeks so you guys get it early. I need to plan something else for me then... I usually get a little more creative around my birthday, so a 100 Snapshots and 13th Hour chapter are in the works!

Reviews would be _lovely_.


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